The rumor is that MO has a bunch of third tier stories waiting in the wings for slow news weeks. Turns out the ZX11 story can compete with the best MO has to offer. Anyway, this is what we have to look forward to in the upcoming frigid non riding months of slow motorcycle news................"The Cost of Turning a Suzuki Savage Into a Motorcycle Someone Would Actually Want to Own", "Convert Your Gixxer to an Ice Racer", "Who Makes the Best Tool Kit", "A Week at Daytona Bike Week with Al Gore", "How to Start a Ural Part 1" first of a five part series.

I did both, I had Rich's redo my stock seat, which though an improvement and nice workmanship still wasn't comfortable after three or four hours. Now I've got a Corbin that's not "broken in" yet but is still more comfortable than stock or modified stock.

The workmanship is good, the seat fits on straight and looks sleek on the bike with color matched piping, and is at least as good as anything else I've tried and for half the price. I did have to shim the latch plate because it was a pretty tight fit to get it to seat, but that took all of five minutes to find two matching washers and install them under the latch. This is the fourth Corbin I've had and they've all been pretty good so maybe my butt fit's their designs or something.

In fact the '86 ZX1000R I had in the mid '90's had a Corbin on it. That was a really fun bike and I can relate to this guy with the ZX11, the big Ninjas of that era kicked ass. I'm impressed with this bike and artical, really good job......brilliant

I love articles like these, but then 3 of my 4 bikes are old(er) farts like me.

But I have to correct the comment about the Avon Super venoms. It is true that the rounder profile of the Avons lets you push a Norton Commando over into a turn more easily. However, you have to lift the bike up coming out of the turn. The original K81s had a square profile and with those you pushed the bike into the corner, but it lifted back up out of the turn more easily than with Avons. That's it. You may be excused.

More like 35hp at the rear wheel at 6500rpm. They used to claim about 48hp at the crank, but that was pretty optimistic. Anyway, it doesn't matter.

Parts are available everywhere and are still relatively cheap. If you want to ride on the freeway you might change the front drive sprocket to a 20 or 21 tooth. Your bike will still be around 25 years from now, and it'll go plenty fast enough for you if you're not too old to kick it over.

I thought I was the only one who had didn't feel comfortable on Corbin seats. The first Corbin seat I bought was for my Norton Commando and I think those were the first seats he made. Anyway it worked OK and so I bought another one for my FLHS. But, it was not very comfortable. I decided that Corbin seats only work if your testicles haven't descended. That would make you about 6 years old - too young to ride a motorbike. I have since had the Norton seat modified and the Harley seat replaced with a Le Pera - ahh, much better!

I picked up a low mileage (13K) 1980 Suzuki GS750E for "something to ride" while I was rebuilding the engine on my daily rider. I figured $700 for a "rat bike" was tough to argue with.

Then I realized what a great bike it still is. With a few modern suspension and brake upgrades, along with a fresh "back yard paint job", it's entirely "cosmetically respectable" now, and has become the preferred tool for long distance riding. Eminently comfortable, good handling, and with usable power even when judged by today's standards.

It does almost everything an SV650 does - some things maybe even better (ask my passenger).

We use cookies to improve your experience on this website and so that ads you see online can be tailored to your online browsing interests.
We use data about you for a number of purposes explained in the links below. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of data and cookies.
Tell me more |
Cookie Preferences

We use cookies to improve your experience on this website and so that ads you see online can be tailored to your online browsing interests. We use data about you for a number of purposes explained in the links below. By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of data and cookies.Tell me more | Cookie Preferences